Within a Dream
by Celestrian
Summary: Kumori is Kagome s friend, from the regular present. Though she isn't one to be called regular. With the weird markings and appearance, she is anything but normal. When she joins Kagome and the gang on their adventures, she discovers new information about herself and her long dead family. Just what will happen?
1. First Encounter

**Within a Dream**

 **Chapter 1: First Encounter**

All of my life it's been this way. Criticized on my appearance, my hair, eyes, and the odd markings on my face. It doesn't help that I have dreams of the same people every night who don't even exist. All because of these things I've been mocked, punished, and any other thing you could think of. An example of these bad moments, is right now.

"You ungrateful child! I ask you to do _one_ thing, _one_ thing! You can't even get food!" The women currently yelling at me is my caretaker. Not mother, but simply a guardian. An unwilling guardian. Earlier she told me to go get some food for _her_. Though because of my look, I couldn't even get her anything. They wouldn't let me buy any food at the store. "I tried. They wouldn't let me-" I was cut off from the women yelling again. "Save your excuses! Just, go to school already!"

I went upstairs and put on my uniform, which had minor altercations. Instead of the skirt, I chose to wear the pants. That gets me more looks from the other kids. When I was done I grabbed my backpack and walked to school. When I got there, lots of kids were still outside, talking and wondering about. I let them be and went straight to my classroom, sitting in my desk that was so _cleverly_ located in the back corner. Guess they didn't want me distracting the other students with my weird look.

"Hey Kumori!" I looked up to see Kagome and her three friends, about the only ones who talked to me. "Hey Kagome. What's up?" She smiled and took her seat, which happened to be in front of mine. "I was wondering if you'd want to come over tonight for a sleepover. Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka are coming." It could be a change of pace. It could also save me from the witch I call a guardian. "Sure. When do I come?" She got a big smile then told me. "An hour after school. Don't be late!" She turned back around because the teacher came in.

"Alright class, today we're going to.." I kind of blocked him out. It doesn't matter if I know this stuff, which I already do. They just pass me so they can get me away from them. I just turned towards the window to clear my mind.

Though this didn't happen. In the distance on top of a building, a guy was sitting on the roof, looking this way. Though he wasn't looking at me, rather he was looking at Kagome.

This guy looked weird though. His hair was pure white, his eyes a gold as if the sun was radiating through them. The remaining factor was his ears. Not normal human ears, dog ears, on top of his head. There's another? I thought I was the only one. You see, Akari, my guardian, said that I was an extinct species. She said I was a demon, one that shouldn't be in this world. In fact, I'm just like this guy. White hair, golden eyes, and a pair of dog ears on my head. Though mine are always covered by my hair so no one knows I have them.

The guy looked over at me and kept his neutral face. I stared back at him and realized something. I've seen him before. In my dreams, he's one of the people always there. I have to find out who he is. I stood up abruptly and everyone stared at me. "Kumori! Sit down!" I ignored the teachers comment and ran through the halls. When I got outside I ran to the other building and climbed the stairs as fast as I could. When I got to the top, I slammed the door open and ran out.

The guy was gone. He just, up and disappeared. Maybe I just imagined him, but why would he be staring at Kagome? I walked over to where he sat before and sat there, exactly as he did. I looked over at the window where my classroom was. The class returned to normal and were writing down notes. Kagome, being the kind friend she was, kept looking around, waiting for something, probably for me to come back. She looked towards the window and squinted, then gasped when she saw me on the roof.

I motioned that I'd explain later and she waited for a moment, then nodded and went back to taking notes. I looked up at the sky and noticed it was darkening. Guess it's gonna rain today. I better go get my stuff for tonight. Not like I need to be here anyways. I backed up then ran forward and jumped off the building. A couple students in the class noticed and started screaming. I did a little flip or two and landed on the ground. I've always been acrobatic, and when I do things like this it doesn't even hurt for some reason.

I ran home and rushed up to my room. I took a bag and packed some clothes for tonight and tomorrow. I added a few things like my phone, headphones, and a pocket knife, just for protection. Alright, now to go over to Kagome's and wait till she gets home. This night should be somewhat fun. It involves a few friends, me, and a whole night in a safe place with loving and caring people. Tonight, I will relax.

 **Kagome's P.O.V.**

Man, there were so many notes today! How am I supposed to remember all of this?! It's not even helpful that Inuyasha's taking me back to his time tomorrow. Well, tonight is going to be fun. Maybe Eri, Ayumi, Yuka, and Kumori can help me with this stuff when I come back. Oh well, it's time to get ready for tonight!

When I got home, mom called me into the kitchen. "Yes mom?" She turned around with a smile. "Your friend with the dog ears is here." Ugh, Inuyasha! Why can't you leave me alone. "Where at?" She continued cleaning the dishes and responded. "In you're room." I stormed up to my room and slammed the door open. "Inuyasha why can't you stay away for one-huh?" In my room was Kumori _and_ Inuyasha. Staring at each other in wonder.

They didn't even acknowledge my presence, and just kept staring at each other. "Hey guys!" They blinked and looked over at me. "Oh hey Kagome. What's up?" Ugh, my life is too complicated. To many lies! "Um..uh..what are you doing here so early?" She kept a neutral expression and explained. "I didn't want to stay with my guardian, so I came here early. By the way, who is this?" She pointed to Inuyasha in confusion.

"That's Inuyasha. He's an idiot and can't leave me alone for _one_ night." It took a minute but he stood up in anger. "Hey! I'm not an idiot! You're an idiot!" My last nerve for him has cracked. "Inuyasha sit!" He face planted into the floor immediately. Kumori just looked utterly confused right now. Well, looks like I have some explaining to do.

 **Kumori's P.O.V.**

When Kagome said "Inuyasha sit!" Inuyasha face planted into the floor. Um, ok. What just happened? It's funny but what was it? Inuyasha stood up and rubbed his head. "What the heck Kagome?!" What was the line she said? Oh right.

"Inuyasha..sit?" He fell back down onto the floor, an oomph sound coming from him. "Uh..I didn't cause that..right?" He looked up in anger and growled. Kagome looked at me and smiled. "Well Kumori. Would you like an explanation for..him?" I nodded and she sat down on her bed.

"You probably won't believe me, but at least listen to this." She started explaining how one day a little while ago, Buyo, her cat, went into the shrine and she had to go look for him because Sota, her brother, was to scared to do it himself. "What does a little fat cat have to do with this?" I mean, who starts a story with a fat cat? "Let me explain!" When she went to get Buyo, some demon came from within the well and pulled her in. She was then transported to feudal era Japan, where she found Inuyasha stuck onto a tree with an arrow in his chest.

"So, he was shot and fell asleep for 50 years? Inuyasha, you are _old_."He went to pounce for me but I moved out of the way and Kagome continued her story.

After their first encounter, Kagome had the shikon jewel and found out she was the reincarnation of a dead priestess named Kikyo. Being Kagome, she thought it would be smarter to break the shikon jewel. Due to that mistake, she now has to go around with Inuyasha gathering the shards in order to protect it from getting into the hands of evil.

"So, do you even believe my story?" Normally, I shouldn't. But I do. "Yep. In fact, I kind of new Inuyasha already, but not directly. You know when I ran out of class and went onto the top of the other building?" She nodded in reply and motioned for me to continue. "Well, right before, I saw Inuyasha on the rooftop. The only reason I went up there was to find out who he was. I've seen him in my dreams, rather memories, and I wanted to know why I'm always seeing him."

They both looked at me like I was crazy. "Hey, you can't judge me. Look at your story. Would anyone _else_ believe you?" She shook her head and sighed, completely chilling out. I looked from her to Inuyasha, back to her, then back to Inuyasha. "Um Kagome. You do realize you have guests coming over soon and if they saw him.." She took a moment then finally understood. "Oh my gosh you're right! Inuyasha, get out of my house!" He was about to retaliate but she glared and he immediately left. Hm, I see a connection between these two. I guess it's time for matchmaker to kick in.

"So Kumori. What should we do tonight?" I blinked at her in confusion. "You mean, you _haven't_ planned anything for tonight?" Her cheeks flamed up in embarrassment. "I haven't had the time recently! But come on, help me!" Might as well, not like I have anything else to do. "Alright. Now, where shall I begin?"

 **Later that Evening**

Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka got to Kagome's house about half an hour later. Our night was starting off great, well, after our five minute adventure of getting Sota away it was. But now it was time for truth or dare, courtesy of Kagome. It may not seem fun to most people out there, but this was actually probably my most fun night I've ever had.

Eri started off first, Ayumi and Yuka paying attention to this question. "So Kagome. Truth or dare?" Kagome looked hard in thought for this.

"Mmm...dare." The girls smiled and Eri continued. "Alright, I dare you to tell me what's going on between you, Hojo, and the mystery boy." We all sat in silence for a moment. I guess I've missed something. Maybe I should talk to them more.

"I don't know. I'm confused with both. Hojo's nice. And he's always looking out for me now. But.. the other guy is mean and inconsiderate and arrogant and-" Alright, enough about guys. It's not my comfort subject. "Ok, we get the point. Next!" They all noticed my discomfort with the subject and laughed but moved on.

Ayumi asked the question next, directing it at me. "Kumori. Truth or dare?" I'm a rebel. I take the dangerous road. "Dare." They smiled once more and continued. "Alright. Obviously from your discomfort before, it's obvious you don't like guys. So, I dare you to go on a date with Hiroshi on Saturday." I blinked at her dare for me. Wait..what?

"Um..why Hiroshi?" They all giggled at my confusion. I was still completely clueless. "Why Hiroshi?! Because he likes you silly!" Uh...what? I sat there silently questioning my situation. "May I ask _how_ you know this?" They all got giddy at this and began their explanation.

 **Flashback! « ° »**

 _Kumori got up right when the bell rang and gathered her things. Eri, Ayumi, Yuka, and Kagome were chatting it up. Most of the other kids had left already except a few consisting of kids in after school activities and a guy, Hiroshi, who stayed but kept watching Kumori. After a minute, Kumori had all her things and walked out of the classroom. Following her movement was Hiroshi's eyes._

 _When Kumori was completely gone, Hiroshi went over to her four friends. When he reached them they all looked up. "Um..hey. You guys are friends with Kumori right?" They all looked around for a moment then nodded. Kagome spoke up for all of them. "Yea, we are. What do you need?" They all notice his cheeks get a flash of pink on them._

 _"Well..I was wondering..maybe you could help me..get together with her." They all giggled at this and nodded. Yuki took over given her interest. "Oh my gosh. Do you like her?" Hiroshi nodded and they giggled once more. "Alright! We'll help you out!"_

 **Present**

"So, you didn't bother to tell me this?" They all looked around nervously, not answering me. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Alright guys. I'm tired. How bout we sleep and continue this tomorrow?" They all nodded and soon we were all asleep.

 **Dream**

 _Everything around here was burning. Flames raced out in every direction, closing off the exits. I was running around trying to find any way to leave. A voice yelled out to me within the flames. "Kumori! Run! Come with me!" I turned towards the voice and saw a woman with a baby in her arms._ _ **Who is that woman? And how does she know me?**_

 _I ran over to the woman and she pulled me into her arms._ _ **This feels normal. Why do I feel..safe in her arms?**_ _The woman turned and I saw someone. Or rather two people. Both men were fighting within the flames. "Come on!" The woman dragged me out of there in a flash. We kept running until we found a cave._

 _The woman laid down with the baby and I sat across from her with my legs crossed. I looked at the baby who had white hair and golden eyes like mine. I smiled as the baby reached for me, then gave him my hand and watched as his little baby hands wrapped around my finger. "Hey, what's his name?" The woman smiled and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "Inuyasha."_

 **Morning**

I was shaken awake and brought back to the world. "Come on Kumori! Get up!" I rubbed my eyes and waited for my eyes to clear only to see Yuka sitting there. I yawned and waved at her. "What's up?" She sighed and shook me once more to wake me up. "It's time to go home." Oh right. I'm at Kagome's house.

"Alright. I'll leave."

Me being the slow person I was, I was the last person to leave. I passed through the kitchen and saw Kagome's mom cleaning dishes. "Bye Ms. Higurashi. Thanks for letting us stay over. Oh by the way, where's Kagome?" She looked back and smiled. "Oh she went to the store." I thanked her and went outside.

I looked around and saw the shrine Kagome was talking about. _That's the place where she went through into the feudal era?_ I walked up to it and opened the door. All I saw were stairs and some old wooden well. I walked down and stared into the well. Hm..I wonder if it'll work for me. Probably not, but it's worth a try. I jumped down and prepared for impact, but there was none.

I opened my eyes and saw some weird blue light tunnel thing. "Alright, what freaky thing is going on?" Eventually, the blue tunnel ended and I was sitting on the well bottom. Looking up, there was no longer a roof, but the sky. I climbed up and saw trees spreading everywhere. No one was around here, not even some random kid playing around. Well, I guess it's up to me to find civilization. I got up and began to walk in some random direction.

 **AN: Sorry for the giant paragraphs (they felt big to me) and also if some of Kagome's story was incorrect. It's been a while since I've seen the beginning episodes. Anyways, until next time!**


	2. Traveling Companions

**Within a Dream**

 **Chapter 2: Traveling Companions**

The rays of the sun passed through the trees. They reflected off of all the surfaces giving me a clear view of what was around me. So far, I had yet to find a town around here. Without one, I'd have no way of telling where exactly I was.

When I walked through another clearing, a few buildings began to pop up with crop fields surrounding them. There were men scattered around them, farming for the crops in order to sustain their people. Even further up, there were more buildings, more so shacks. It's best to assume that's where the people live.

I walked through a bit more, mapping the place out. Most of the men, save for the older ones, were out with the crops. The woman and children were scattered about the area, the children playing about and the woman idly chatting.

There was one building separate from the others, set off to the side. Above it on a hill looked to be some burial place with a shrine. Before I could even get into looking at that, my eyes turned back to the building in front of the hill. Leaning against the side was a bicycle.

Normally this would mean nothing, just another insignificant detail. But in this place, everything was well behind the current time I was used to, so seeing a bicycle just laying about seemed a bit out of the ordinary.

 _Kagome._

Her name suddenly popped into my mind. Of course it's her! Who else would have a bicycle in this place? I slowly began to walk into the little shack, wary of anyone who didn't know me.

When I was fully inside, three heads bobbed around to see me. One was from an old woman who wore traditional priestess attire. The other one was from a man wearing a red kimono, which I remembered was Inuyasha. The third was from the only person I was really used to, Kagome, who for some reason was also in proper priestess attire.

She recognized me and stood up very quickly in shock. "Kumori?! How did you get here?" The old woman who had been sitting next to Kagome raised a brow. "Ye know this stranger Kagome?" Kagome looked over towards the woman and nodded.

"Oh yeah. Um, Kumori, this is Kaede, the priestess of this village. Kaede, this is Kumori, one of my friends from the _future_." I realized that she had intentionally emphasized the word future.

"The future? Girl, ye come from Kagome's time and ye are her friend?" I looked over towards her and nodded. "I guess so. Kagome and I have been friends for a while now, probably about five years." She gave a simple nod at my words.

Inuyasha, who had been patiently sitting, abruptly stood up. "Hang on! I thought only you and I could travel through the well. How can she do it too?!" He looked over at Kagome with a finger pointed accusingly at me.

"How would I know?! I thought it was only us as well. This is new to me too." She gave a small sigh and looked back over at me. She looked completely confused right now, and I could understand why. Based off her story she told me yesterday evening, only her and Inuyasha could actually travel between times. What I did was a mystery in and of itself.

"Guys, this is confusing to me as well. I didn't even think I could make it through. I just decided to try it for fun. I didn't think it would actually work." They all sat back down where they had been before. I joined them as well, not wanting to stand out more then I was right now.

"Well, I guess you can stay here for now. But you'll have to go back later. Your mom will question where you're at." Right, my _mother_. I bet right now she's probably yelling throughout the house questioning where the "worthless child" was right now and why there wasn't any food ready for her highness.

"She won't question it. She'll wait for me to get back then rant at me for hours saying how I should be ready to get her and do what she wants." She looked at me a bit questionably. "I doubt she would do that." You say that because you don't know her Kagome. She's nothing like your mother.

"Yeah.." I decided to just leave that topic at that. Kagome would always find a positive, even if she knew nothing about it. "Anyways, what are doing today? You have stuff packed up and ready. Plus, you have a bow and arrows strapped on you." She gave a small gasp when she realized this.

"Right! Before you came in here, Inuyasha and I were about to head out to continue searching for the jewel shards." Inuyasha gave a small nod at her words. He looked as if he wanted to leave now.

"Oh yeah, the jewel shards. You did say something about those. How many do you have right now?" She reached down towards her neck and pulled off a necklace which held a chipped up portion of the whole shikon jewel. It shimmered in the light that came through the open window.

"Well right now, they're forged together so I can't really tell. But this is only a sliver of the whole jewel shard. We still have many more to collect-" She was cut off when Inuyasha stood up once more, almost knocking down the items in front of him.

"Which means we need to leave now. The sooner we leave, the sooner we find the shards. Let's go." He almost made it out of the shack but Kagome spoke up, stopping him in his tracks. "What about Kumori?" He turned around with a huff.

"She can stay here. She'll only slow us down. The only reason I even have you is because I can't find them myself. If I could, you can bet I'd be long gone." Kagome looked irritated at this comment and took a breath.

"Inuyasha.." Wait, I remember this. "Sit boy!" The beads around his neck glowed for a moment, then Inuyasha fell onto the ground, creating a small hole around him. "Maybe those are holding you back as well Inuyasha." He looked up at me in annoyance and gave a small growl.

"Just because you said that Inuyasha, Kumori is going to come with us." I turned over towards Kagome. "Kagome, I don't think I'd be of much help in this situ-"

"Nonsense. Let's go!" She grabbed her bag, then my wrist, dragging me outside to her bike which she hopped on quickly. "Can you keep up with me while running?" I gave a small nod. I'd always been a fast runner. It came in handy for winning competitions, especially ones that won me money.

Kagome began to pedal away from the shack at an amazing speed. I ran after her trying not to get lost in this new place. Eventually, Inuyasha came running right behind us with an annoyed look on his face. I guess it would get pretty annoying always being pushed onto the ground due to some stupid necklace.

Soon enough, Kagome asked to stop due to her legs being tired from pedaling. We all sat down for a little bit. Kagome even started making some instant ramen, saying it was about lunch time. I ate it respectively, while Inuyasha just devoured all the contents of it. I sighed at his utter stupidity while doing...well anything.

We started going through the woods and along the paths after our lunch break was over. The only one so far who was getting tired was Kagome, due to her having to pedal the whole time instead of run. Now that I think about it, I don't understand how she became so tired when Inuyasha and I were the ones running the whole time.

"Wait!" Kagome suddenly yelled out, causing Inuyasha to stop still and myself to almost fall over. "What is it Kagome?" I was curious on what was making this woman yell like that. Normally she's well together. Inuyasha looked over towards her, a serious look plastered on his face.

"Do you sense something? Is it a jewel shard?!" Kagome looked forward for a minute then turned towards us with the most serious face I've ever seen her give.

"I left my school books at home."

That..was over dramatic. "Kagome, your books don't matter. We have to find the jewel shards, so that means we don't have time for you to start reading whenever you feel like it!" Inuyasha was obviously irritated at the false alarm that just occurred. Kagome looked at him almost annoyed.

"It matters to me! Unlike you, I want a good education so I can get a good career when I get older. And the only way to do that it to study with my books, which I don't have!" I stood awkwardly off to the side while they started to bicker like an old married couple.

"Hey Kagome. I wouldn't mind going back to go get your books. It's obvious that Inuyasha doesn't want you to leave, and you seem to really want to study while you're here. Besides, it's not like I'm helpful right now. I'll only slow you down on your search."

The two of them turned to look at me. Kagome spoke up first before Inuyasha could even form a syllable. "Could you really? I would be so happy if you did. Those books are my lifeline to a good future. Without them, I'll be a complete failure!" I gave a slight chuckle at her over exaggeration.

"I'm not sure I would take it that far, but why not. I'll be back as soon as I can." Before any other words could be said, I dashed off, back towards the village in which we came.

I reached the village in due time, surprised that the people were still doing the same thing they had been doing when we left. I guess they do have their civic duties even in the feudal era. I walked past all that the village had to offer and back into the forest in which I originally exited from.

When I came upon the well, I looked into it for a moment. It truly is a wonder how this little dried up well can take people to and from the future. I would say that it's magic, but I'm not sure if that's a thing in this place. The locals would just call it "divine powers".

I shook out of my thinking and climbed up the wall on the outside. I gave it a moment, then jumped through. Closing my eyes, I waited for the breeze of the time transfer to blow towards me.

It didn't.

My body crashed down on the cold ground, the complete opposite of what was supposed to happen. I stood up and rubbed the side of my head, due to the impact.

Wasn't I supposed to go through and end up back in the regular time? That's what Kagome said. Maybe I did something wrong.

I hopped out of the well, stood on the side, then jumped in again. Once more, I crashed onto the ground, showing me that this wasn't going to work no matter how I try it.

Now how am I going to get Kagome's books? She won't be able to study. She won't be happy about this.

Once more, I got out of the well, tempted to try it once more, but something told me it wasn't going to work no matter how many times I tried it.

I left the clearing with the well and went back to the village. What could have possibly happened to not let me go back to my own time? Kagome said to just jump in it and you'd be taken back to the present, but that obviously didn't happen.

Why not?

"Kumori?" I looked up to see Kaede looking at me questionably. "Oh, hello Lady Kaede."

"Kumori, what are ye still doing here? I thought ye was heading back to ye own time." I gave a small sigh and nodded. "I was trying to, but for some reason I couldn't get through the well."

She raised an eyebrow at my predicament. "Ye could not get through? How odd.." She raised her hand to her mouth, stuck in thought.

"It always works for Kagome and Inuyasha. Why it would not work for ye is confusing."

"I know. All I was trying to do was go through, grab some of Kagome's books, and then bring them back to her. The well just..wouldn't let me through. It felt as if something was holding me back."

She stayed in her own mind for a moment then responded. "Well, as of now, I have no idea why ye could not pass through. But it is getting late. Ye should spend the night in the village, then in the morning meet up with Inuyasha and Kagome."

I shook my head at her. "Thank you Lady Kaede, but I really shouldn't. Kagome and Inuyasha are expecting me to come back. If I don't, they may come looking for me for no reason at all, and we'll loose the progress we've made so far on our trip."

Kaede shook her head at my refusal. "It would not be safe for ye to travel at night all by ye lonesome. But, if ye be anything like those two, ye won't listen to a word I say. I will warn ye though. Beware of the beasts who roam around looking for-"

Kaede stopped speaking when she realized that no one was there to actually hear her wise words of wisdom.

 **AN: Sorry for the short and stupid chapter. Or maybe it just seems short and stupid to me.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And holy plot twist! She can't go back through the well. Yes, it may seem cliche, but it's my story and I do what I want.**

 **I also realized that writing for Kaede, I have to change you to ye all the time, it just doesn't work when I'm fully writing and not bothering to check it over, so it makes editing difficult.**

 **Please give me some feedback on what you thought and any suggestions that you have for the story. It is greatly appreciated.**

 **Thank you for reading. Until next time.**


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